England thrash Croatia with a historic seven in the UEFA Nations League
The England national team struck hard away from home, after thrashing their host Croatia 7-0, on Saturday evening, at the Rujevica Stadium in Rijeka, as part of the third round of group stage matches in the UEFA Nations League.
Coach Thomas Tuchel's men did not give the hosts a chance to catch their breath, as Harry Kane needed only 8 minutes to open the scoring, before Jude Bellingham added the second goal in the 21st minute, capitalizing on England's clear superiority in the run of play.
English dominance continued completely, with the third goal coming from Anthony Gordon in the 39th minute, before Bukayo Saka concluded the first-half goal fest with a fourth goal in stoppage time, sending England into the break with a clean four-goal lead.
The scene did not change after returning from the locker rooms, as England continued their attacking pressure, and Harry Kane returned to hit the net in the 53rd minute, scoring his personal second goal and the fifth for his national team.
Then Saka completed his brace in the 68th minute, as the England national team continued to exploit the spaces and the clear defensive collapse in the Croatian ranks.
In the final minutes, England refused to settle for a six-goal lead and added a seventh goal through Morgan Rogers in the 87th minute, after he went clear on goalkeeper Dominik Livaković and finished the attack successfully, completing one of England's biggest victories in the tournament.
The match was almost one-sided, with England having about 64% of the possession compared to 36% for Croatia, and they had 15 shots compared to 6 shots for the hosts, reaching the goal on 8 occasions versus zero shots on target from the Croatian side.
With this victory, England sent a strong message in the fight for the third group, as they showed a clear attacking character from the first minutes until the final whistle, while Croatia suffered a harsh blow at home on a night that ended with England's biggest victory over them. Reports indicate that 7-0 is the heaviest defeat in the history of the Croatian national team.
England's goalscorers:
⚽ Harry Kane 8'
⚽ Jude Bellingham 21'
⚽ Anthony Gordon 39'
⚽ Bukayo Saka 45+1'
⚽ Harry Kane 53'
⚽ Bukayo Saka 68'
⚽ Morgan Rogers 87'